


Hey Jude

by thanks_google



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Disabled Character, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs Help, Multi, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Paralysis, Protective Vanya Hargreeves, Schizophrenia, ben’s alive, klaus actually doesn’t have powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:08:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29448285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanks_google/pseuds/thanks_google
Summary: Klaus was born with severe Spina Bifida, a lack of development in the spinal cord, leaving him confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Disabled, ordinary, diagnosed with schizophrenia, deemed useless by his father, Klaus and Vanya move away together to start a new life, where some schedules have to be followed and Vanya makes sure of it or Klaus will panic. It’s all going as close to swimmingly as can be until they find that their father is dead and all the boundaries Klaus has overcome and progress he’s made are turned on his head.
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves & Everyone, Klaus Hargreeves & Luther Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 1
Kudos: 34





	1. Yesterday

On October 1st 1989, 43 women around the world gave birth to children. The strangest thing is that none of these women were pregnant when the day first began. Sir Reginald Hargreeves bought seven of them. 

His greatest disappointment was always number four, Klaus Hargreeves, born with severe spina bifida, meaning he’s confined to a wheelchair, paralysed from the waist down, struggling with plenty. Not only this but the whole problem of being diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age. 

He and Vanya, the two ordinaries, became close fast, staying together while their siblings trained and went on missions. They’d been shut away for being normal and we’re sick and tired from it. At the age of 16, the two of them saved all their pocket money and a little more, having taken up tiny jobs in the city which their father didn’t even notice. The two of them packed their bags in the night, as quietly as they could, and left through Klaus’ window which had a fire escape close enough to crawl down if they climbed along his windowsill. 

They bought a little apartment, only one bedroom. They bought twin beds which fit nicely in the bedroom, with . The main room is a kitchen, living room, work space for both Kluas and Vanya. Vanya teaches violin in the house to little children, some of them better than others. Kluas paints, paints many paintings, good ones, too. He sells them to the near museum, and they pay him plenty. They could use the money for many things. Klaus’ medication and treatment is expensive, but still leaves a lot spare, which they use to rent out apartments and studio flats to people. It gives theme a little more money but they rent them out for quite little money, still enough for a profit, but inexpensive so that people like them at the beginning when they’d just left, people just starting off in the world, who barely have enough to get by. Vanya’s job is mostly for comfort, seeing as they hardly need the money. 

Every day goes about the same way. It has to or Klaus panics. Has a panic attack if everything doesn’t follow the routine. Vanya wakes up at seven, makes breakfast, which they have a schedule for what they have each day or he panics. She takes his medication from the caddy and at 7:30 takes it back in to him with a glass of water, waking him up for the morning. When he’s taken his medicine, she takes him to the toilet if he needs it, which he always does, seeing to the strict schedule. They then both sit at the table, Klaus in his wheelchair, Vanya at the side nearest the fridge. It’s the way it always has been and always will be. Their schedule is different to the days of the week, but Vanya has students all day, always stopping for lunch. Always. Klaus stays with her in the main room, while she’s teaching, and he paints all day. He has a desk which sits at an angel and is high enough he can fit his wheelchair under but low enough he can reach easily for his painting. 

They go out for lunch every day at this little cafe run by a man named Dave, some handsome man Klaus has been swooning over for years without making too much of a move, only flirting. He eats the same thing for lunch every day without fail; macaroni cheese and a half pint of lemonade. They pay and they leave. On a Sunday they go to the supermarket to get the shopping for the next week. On a Monday they go clothes shopping because it calms Klaus down, most of the time. They only buy a thing or two each time, but it’s a nice thing for them to do. Tuesday to Friday after lunch they return home straight away and get back to what they were doing before, painting and teaching. On a Saturday they will go to the theatre to watch a play. Sometimes there’s only the same one at a time, so they see it more than once, sometimes three or four times, until they’ve learnt the lines and have the words to the songs stuck in their heads. 

They work until six o’clock when Vanya makes dinner, which differs throughout the week but stays the same. For example, they have jacket potatoes and cheese and pizza every Monday, fish and chips on a Tuesday. It continues through the week until Sunday when they have dinner at a restaurant down the road where he eats margarita pizza and has a hot chocolate. They return home and every night they sit on the sofa and watch whatever TV show they are watching at the time. At 9:00, Vanya takes him to bed and plays her violin until he falls asleep. 

Klaus knows it’s not a wonderful way to live, but it’s what he has to do to stay afloat, and luckily for him, Vanya appreciates it and understands it. She follows it and helps him through the day. Vanya also gives him his medication accordingly throughout the day, keeping it in a little box separated into compartments for day of the week and time of day. She always is very organised. 

Klaus wakes to the smell of pancakes with blueberries and strawberries because it’s Wednesday. Vanya is gently shaking him awake by his shoulder and smiling. He smiles back and takes her hand when she offers it out to help him sit up. 

‘Good morning. Klaus. Pancakes almost ready,’ Vanya says as she passes him his acetaminophen, the strong pain medication, and Navane, his antipsychotics to help with his schizophrenia, which he takes with a glass of water she also hands him. 

‘Thank you, Van.’ He smiles up at her and she smiles back at him.

‘Toilet?’ 

‘Please.’ Vanya’s gotten used to carrying him from furniture to wheelchair to toilet and so on, so she has an organisational system. It already sits near his bed ready for her to lift him onto, which she does. Once he’s on the chair, she pushes it to the bathroom, where she helps him take his pyjama trousers down and lifts him onto the toilet. He does what he has to do and she lifts him back onto the wheelchair, before pushing him back in to the bedroom and getting him dressed. He picks out a light blue button up shirt which has little dogs printed on it, as well as some black jeans, socks, and black lace up boots. 

They enter the main room and sit at the table. Vanya served them both pancakes and they eat, discussing what they will do today, despite the fact that they both know exactly what they’ll be doing today. Once they’ve had their pancakes, they will work until lunch time, eat at Dave’s cafe, and continue the day as they always do. Spaghetti bolognese with cheese for dinner as they do every Wednesday. 

Vanya tells him about the children she’s teaching today, how they’re a mixture between the young bouncy ones who don’t know a whole lot about violin yet, and an older child who she knows has great potential. Klaus tells Vanya about the painting he’s drawing and they talk until they are both finished eating and the first of Vanya’s students will turn up any minute. Klaus sits at the desk, listening to Vanya teach, and paints until lunch. 

At lunch, Vanya and Klaus wrap up warm because it’s a pretty cold day and Klaus doesn’t feel the cold on his legs so he could get ill fast without really knowing about it. They walk to the cafe where they always meet Dave and he gives him macaroni and cheese. But… Dave isn’t here. He looks up at Vanya behind him and she looks a little worried. He panics when things don’t go to the schedule. She holds her index finger up and pushes him over to their usual table before walking to the counter where a different person, a woman, is standing, where Dave is meant to be. He tried to take a deep breath, grips his hands o. the side of the table to ground himself. Vanya rushed back and sits on the other side of the table, taking his hands in hers over the table and trying to get his attention. 

‘Klaus, it’s okay. Its okay. Dave… Dave isn’t working today, his friend just told me. But she can serve us. She’ll make your macaroni cheese just like Dave does. It’ll be okay, yeah?’ Her eyebrows are knitted together and she has to lean her head down to make sure she keeps his attention. His before deep breaths are becoming quicker and he only notices just before he starts that he is hyperventilating. Vanya notices it soon and stands up, wheeling him outside into the fresh air. 

Once they’re in the fresh air on the path just outside the cafe, Vanya stops and locks his chair to place, before kneeling in front of him and taking hold of his hand, pressing it against her chest. ‘Come on, Klaus. Breathe with me, follow me. It’s okay, it’s okay.’ She leans forward and pulls him close, all the while keeping his hand in hers against her chest so he can feel it. Eventually, his breathing starts to even out, and the tears flowing down his cheeks become fewer. ‘You okay?’ He nods. ‘I’m sorry. There’s nothing we can do. Do you still want to go in?’ He nods. ‘It’s okay. She says he’s going to be back tomorrow. It’ll be fine.’ 

Slowly, when Klaus is ready and not a moment sooner, Vanya takes them both back into the cafe and back to their table. The woman from before comes over. 

‘I’m sorry, sir, ma’am, about that. Dave is having lunch off today.’ He never has lunch off. It’s how he became part of Klaus’ routine. He works every day at lunch to pay for school which he does online in the evenings. ‘What would you like?” 

“Macaroni cheese and lemonade, please.’ The woman nods, still smiling awkwardly, trying to be reassuring. Vanya orders her lunch and a coffee and they eat in silence. 

It’s what changes their whole world, later that evening. They’re watching the Vampire Diaries, their current TV show of choice. They’re just about to put the next episode on when it flickers to the news channel. 

_Eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves was pronounced dead today. His son Luther spoke to our reporter today and made it clear he should be remembered for all the good he did, and-_

Vanya switches off the TV quickly, already grabbing her phone to call the Academy. She stands up while Klaus sits there, staring at the screen in front of him. Vanya calls and it’s Pogo who picks up. She moves into the bedroom so Klaus can’t hear her. 

“What the fuck, Pogo?” 

“Please, master Vanya, mind your language.”

“What the- please explain to me what’s going on.”

“Your father passed away from a heart attack this morning. I’m so sorry you had to hear about it this way-“

“Sorry? You’re sorry? What the f- what am I going to tell Klaus? Klaus who needs order in his life or he won’t want to live it at all. Do you understand that? Do you remember the days of having to calm him down because he didn’t have the right food on the right ducking day? It’s gotten worse, so much worse. And there’s going to be a funeral, and media attention, and a family reunion. What do you expect me to tell him? You couldn’t even phone so I could fucking ease him into it? Explain it to him slowly. Get him used to the idea?” 

“I’m so sorry, Master Vanya. I understand you’re angry. There’s a funeral tomorrow at 10 am. If there’s anything I can do to help with the situation, I’ll do it without hesitation. I’m very sorry for your loss, Master Vanya.” The line goes flat because Vanya hangs up on him. She wipes a tear away from her face and tries to think how, for the life of her, will she explain this all, make it work for him.


	2. Yellow Submarine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day of the funeral, and Klaus is trying to keep himself together.

Klaus has been staring at the black screen of the television for however long, thinking. Thinking hard and deeply about what the fuck he just heard. Regi- dead? What does this mean? Does he have to go to a funeral? Will he have to do something else, change his timetable? No, he can’t. Surely he couldn’t. He had a panic attack earlier when Dave wasn’t working and someone else served him his macaroni cheese. He hardly ate it from feeling sick. Things can’t- he can’t change it. He just can’t. 

He hasn’t gotten in a car in as long as he can remember, everything being close enough for them to walk. He’s never been to somewhere other than the apartment, the cafe, the restaurant, the supermarket and the clothes shops since they’ve moved out, since they settled on the schedule. 

Vanya’s kneeling in front of him on the sofa, holding his chin to get his attention. “Klaus, hey. It’s okay. Come here.” She pulls him into a hug which he reluctantly returns, his mind elsewhere. “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out, okay?” Klaus nods. “The next few days might be a little different, okay? But I promise, I promise, I’ll try and make things as normal as I can. Okay?” Klaus nods, tears already flowing down his cheeks. “We’re going to need to get you something black. Is it okay if we go to the shop?” Shop? On a Wednesday? They go to the shops on a Monday. That’s what they do. And it’s late. It’ll be dark out. Klaus doesn’t remember the last time he went out when it was dark out. “Klaus, I promise. I will look after you. Nothing is going to happen. There’s going to be a funeral tomorrow. But we’ll take everything one step at a time. First, we’re going to go get you something black to wear.”

They journey to the clothes shop as they do every Monday afternoon, but it’s not Monday. It’s Wednesday and they’re not meant to, not allowed to be here now. Vanya makes sure they’re quick, grabs the first black shirt Klaus says he likes in his size and, after paying, returns home immediately. Vanya accepts there isn’t going to be a whole lot of sleep tonight, so after undressing Klaus and putting him into his pyjamas, she tucks him into his bed and prepares her violin to pay to help him sleep. She’d climb into bed with him, but she knows that would cause more trouble than it’s worth, because it’s even more change to the routine and she doesn’t know how much more change he can take. 

It’s a long night of nightmares, violin playing and tears. Eventually, at 5 am, Vanya gives up on sleep, having not slept a wink due to worry about her brother, so as silently as she can, she gets up and watches the television in the other room, on so quiet so as not to wake him up that she has to turn on the subtitles. 

At 7:00, Vanya turns the television off and goes to the kitchenette to prepare crumpets and butter for breakfast. She opens her phone and a notification pops up from Diego. On the day they left, they all gave Vanya their phone number in case something happened, in case they needed help. They’d never used it, never wanted any connection to their life before, but now it seemed necessary. The notification is from a few minutes ago. _Call me_

Taking a deep breath, she opens the phone app and clicks Diego’s name to call him. It rings a few times before he picks up. “Hello? Vanya?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“Sorry, I know it’s early.”

“It’s okay.” Neither say anything for a moment in awkward silence. “Are you going today?”

“Yes, I am. Are you and Klaus?”

“Yeah.”

“How’s he doing?”

“It’s… it’s going to be a long day. I had to take him to the shop yesterday to get something to wear and he almost had a panic attack.”

“It’s okay, we’ll look after him.”

“Yeah… Anyway, I need to wake him up so I’ll… I’ll see you later. What time?”

“I’m going at half eight. Get there early so Luther can’t complain I’m late. It’ll give me slightly less reasons to kill him.” They both chuckle slightly. 

“See you there.”

“See you there.” Vanya presses the button to turn it off and puts it in her pocket.

She takes her pills for her anxiety and takes out Klaus’ from the caddy. She grabs a glass and fills it with water, then brings it into him. He’s asleep, barely, his eyes moving underneath his eyelids. Gently, Vanya shakes him. “Morning, Klaus.” It’s going to be a long day, she knows. A tough day, for both of them in different ways. 

Klaus jumps at the movement on his shoulder. He’s hardly had any sleep, waking up every half hour to a nightmare, only for Vanya to help him back to sleep. She’s smiling reassuringly. He pulls himself up with his arms into a sitting position and takes the pills with the glass of water. There’s a voice in the distance, but he tries to push past it, tells himself it’s just the nerves of today. Vanya helps him get dressed into his black jeans and the new black shirt they bought yesterday. It’s nothing special, not like him at all. It’s black and button up and he wears his lace up boots with them. Vanya takes him to the toilet and he brushes his teeth before they sit at the table and eat the crumpets. 

They talk, very gently, very slowly, about what they are going to do today. Vanya says she has cancelled her lessons for today and the next couple of days because she predicts there will be a lot to be done around the house and that maybe they can bring the rest of their belongings home. Klaus swallows nervously and nods to what she says, despite the fact he’s barely listening. 

“First thing we’re going to do is go to the car in the car park.” They have a car, a land rover with an open boot. It means they can fit the wheelchair in the back. They don’t use it, rarely, anyway. It’s mostly for Vanya if she needs to get somewhere, or when they have to go to the hospital quickly. It’s not too far, so they usually walk, but if there’s an emergency, something happens, they have to get there quickly. It’s the only time Klaus is willing to sit in it. But that’s the first step, getting him in the car. “And we’ll put your wheelchair and your medicine in the back, and us in the front.” Klaus nods.

That’s their first step. After they finish their breakfast and would usually start their working day, they wrap up and leave the apartment. They have the ground floor because the apartment doesn’t have wheelchair access. They’ve complained many times, but nothing’s ever been done about it. It just means Klaus hasn’t met his neighbours, but he’s never showed any interest in it, either. If he wanted to, Vanya would happily go upstairs and invite them down, but it’d be a change to the schedule and Klaus would never have that. They travel to the car park and get into it. Klaus is shaking, not from the cold, from nerves. Vanya notices his breathing is a little fast, but not as fast as it could get, so she tries to reassure him and herself that it will be okay. 

“Okay, next step. I’m going to drive us to the Academy, okay?” Klaus nods and Vanya starts the car. They begin to drive and after a while the streets become unfamiliar. Klaus’ breathing picks up a little more but Vanya holds his hand to ground him and he takes a deep breath, bringing himself back.  
It’s almost an hour before they reach the Academy. They’d moved as far away from the Academy as they could afford. The stairs look daunting but they’d installed a ramp many years ago which they seem to have not taken away yet, which Vanya has a little smile at. Klaus watches carefully as Vanya takes the chair out of the back of the car and brings it to his side of the car, gently helping him onto it. “Next step, we’re going to go in, and people might be there. Luther will be already, Diego said he would be here early, and then hopefully Allison and Ben will be, too. Okay?” Klaus nods nervously. She pushes him to the front door and opens it. There isn’t anyone there yet. Vanya places the breaks on his wheelchair for a moment and kneels in front of him. “You’re doing so well, Klaus. If you want me to, I can go ask mum if she can make macaroni and cheese. If we’re still here tomorrow, we can ask Dave to bring some over, or we can go get it. If you want we can go and ask mum now?” Klaus nods. “Okay, that’s the next step.” They hug for a moment before Vanya pushes him into the kitchen. Grace looks up from where she is making cookies and smiles brightly, rushing over and pulling Klaus into a warm hug. When she pulls away, she pulls Vanya into a warm embrace. 

“How are you two doing? I haven’t seen you in years. You’ve grown so much, but you look just the same. Klaus, you always did like macaroni cheese, so I’m making it for lunch. It’s about time your siblings appreciated it like you always did.” Klaus sighs in relief, and Vanya does the same. Dave’s macaroni cheese is incredible, but nothing compares to his mum’s. 

“Are the others here?” Klaus asks. He tries to make his voice calm to avoid the fact he should be painting right now. Not here, not how it is. 

“Luther and Allison are in your father’s office. Diego and Ben are in the living room.” She smiles again before returning to her cookies. 

“You hear that, Klaus? We can see everyone and mum’s going to make you lunch.” Klaus nods as they exit the kitchen and enter the living room. “Hey guys!” Diego and Ben look up from what seems to be a chess game. Klaus and Vanya play chess sometimes, when he’s feeling a little better than usual. Klaus is incredibly skilled, always wins. 

“Hey!” Ben and Diego say in unison. Ben makes his move on the board, moving white king bishop to E3. Useless move, Klaus thinks, for the game in front of them. Diego will win. “How are you guys?” Ben asks as they stand up and move towards Klaus and Vanya. 

“Good,” Vanya replies awkwardly. Klaus nods. There’s something in the corner of the room he can’t quite take his eyes off, something he knows isn’t supposed to be there, something he can’t pinpoint and can’t make go away. “Klaus?” Vanya snatches his attention back to the real world and his eyes look to Diego and Ben. 

“Oh, sorry. Hey.” Klaus tries to sound sincere in his words, tries to make it sound like he isn’t freaking out, panicking. Too many bad memories in this place. And he’s about an hour away from any sort of normality, which panics him even more. “How are you guys?” 

Ben smiles. “Good. After I moved out I bought a little bookstore. It’s not a huge turnover but it’s nice.”

Diego continues, “And I moved out just a little while after. I saved up and bought a gym. It’s only a couple doors down from Ben’s shop, so we see each other.”

“I went to the art gallery a few months ago, Klaus, and saw some beautiful paintings. When I looked to see who drew them, I saw it was you!” Ben looks so proud. Genuinely proud. “You’ve gotten really good. I remember sitting with you when we were little and you teaching me how to use watercolours. I thought then you couldn’t get any better, but you definitely have.” 

Klaus nods. “Had a lot of practice here while you were all off training.” He tries not to add too much anger to his voice. But he is angry. He wishes he was never in this family, that he could have grown up normal, or as close to normal he can be with how he is. 

After a moment of awkward silence, Vanya wheeled Klaus to the sofa and lifted him onto it. Ben and Diego joined them on the sofa and they made awkward small talk as Klaus stared at the hallucination in the corner. He doesn’t notice he’s shivering, doesn’t notice he’s cold at all, until there’s a hand on his forearm and Vanya is looking at him. “Do you want a blanket?” He nods and she leaves his peripheral vision. He looks out the window and watches the trees in the courtyard sway in the cold wind. 

Ben and Diego talk amongst themselves and Klaus doesn’t bother to try and include himself in the conversation, mind elsewhere. He comes back to himself when footsteps come closer. There’s more than one pair, so it’s not just Vanya, he notices. He turns around to see Vanya, holding a thick blanket, as well as Luther, who’s massive, terrifyingly so, and Allison, who smiles at him. 

This is it, Klaus thinks. The whole family, back together again. All they need is Five and they’d be like a little family again, before everything got messed up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I was going to have this be more of a thing set before canon, but I got excited and wanted to get straight into it, so I'm thinking a lot of it will be set after the not-apocalypse when the siblings look after Klaus and get him well again.


	3. Let it Be

They’re all sitting in the living room, and Klaus is struggling to cope. It’s not how it’s meant to be. He’s meant to be at Dave’s now, he’s meant to be at Dave’s cafe. But he’s here, here with people who are strangers to him, people he hasn’t seen in years. Luther’s too big, too scary. He could crush him between his fingertips and there’s nothing Klaus can do about it. He wonders whether mum has the ingredients to make lasagne and garlic bread. If she doesn’t, what does he do then? Even if she does, she won’t make it the same as Vanya. It won’t be the same and he’ll panic. It’s how it works. It’ll taste different and he’ll be sick. 

Luther’s talking about funerals and memorials, scattering dad’s ashes and so on, but Klaus stays silent. He can’t do this, can’t be this far away from his normality. Vanya knows that, why did she bring him here? She needs to take him home. She needs to take him home now so that he can carry on as before. That’s what he needs. 

“Klaus, hey. Klaus, calm down. It’s okay.” He didn’t know he was blinking, squeezing his eyes shut, but when he does notice, he cracks them open just enough that he can see Vanya kneeling in front of the sofa, holding his upper arms gently with hers. “Slow down your breathing. Breathe with me, yeah?” She presses his hand against her chest and breathes deeply to demonstrate it to him. Klaus doesn’t understand, dazed and confused, at first, but eventually begins to calm down and he opens his eyes a little more. His siblings are looking at him, concerned, but they look away when he looks up. Vana gently takes her left hand away from his hand against her chest, keeping the other hand on it, and carefully wipes away his tears. She pulls him into a hug, his left hand and her right hand still pressed against her chest. Klaus takes a deep breath and presses his face on her chin, silently sobbing. She shushes him and rubs circles on his back. 

“Hey, is there anything I can do?” Klaus hears Ben ask from somewhere around him. 

“Water, please.” Vanya’s voice vibrates through Klaus and he can feel it. Ben has already stood up and starts to walk out by the time Vanya continues. “And can someone tell mum to make lunch, please?” Diego nods before standing up and leaving. “Feeling better?” Vanya whispers to Klaus. 

“Luther… really big.” He whispers back. He doesn’t want to make Luther feel bad, so doesn’t say it loud enough that he could hear. There’s a few hushed voices, not to him this time, and Luther sounds a little angry, but finally stomps off. Allison’s heels reluctantly follow him. Vanya carefully pulls from the hug and holds Klaus’ hands between them.

“He’s gone. It’s okay. He’s just filled out a little since we last saw him. It’s okay, though. He’s not going to hurt you, not ever.”

“He used to hurt me.” Klaus remembers Luther getting angry about the fact that, even though his disease does not currently have a cure, was stubborn and was determined to make him at least somewhat useful. He would pull him into the air and hold him there for ages. He would hold him and shout at him to stand up, dropping him and then kicking him a little when he instantly fell to the ground.

“I know he did, but that was just when he got angry. You have everyone here to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“I want- I want to see Dave.”

“I know it’s hard, Klaus. Everything’s different, especially after yesterday. I know this isn’t how it normally is. It’s not going how it’s supposed to, but we’ll figure it out. It will be okay.” 

“Everything’s different. Not painting and not- we’re not home and you’re not playing the violin and you won’t make lasagne for dinner and we won’t sit at the places at the table and-” His breathing starts to quicken but Vanya places his hand back on her chest and takes some deep breaths. “Sorry, I- I’m just…” He doesn’t finish the sentence, but he doesn’t need to for Vanya to understand. 

“I know, Klaus. I don’t know how long we’re going to be here but I’ll get you back home as soon as I can and everything will go back to how it was before. You can paint and I’ll teach and everything will be okay. I promise.” Klaus holds his pinky finger out and Vanya smiles, linking hers into it. After a moment, Vanya returns to sit next to him on the sofa, holding his hand gently. 

Ben comes back in with a glass of water which he hands to Klaus, who takes it, drinking a couple of sips. Vanya looks down at the time on her phone, reading 11:30. It’s time for Klaus to take his acetaminophen for the pain. “I’ll be back in a second,” she says to Klaus. “I left your tablets in the car. I’ll be just a moment. Ben’s here and Diego’s coming back in a moment.” Klaus nods and smiles, watching Vanya leave. 

Ben’s looking at him curiously. “Are you doing okay?” he asks sympathetically. 

“I don’t like it here.”

“I know… Look, maybe I could come round to see you and Vanya when all this is over. I hear you have a nice little apartment.” Klaus nods, but isn’t totally convinced with the idea. “I’d love to see the famous artist doing some work first hand. Maybe you could draw me.” Ben smiles, putting his hands under his chin in a pose. Klaus smiles back, and they chuckle a little until Klaus hears Diego’s footsteps coming closer.

“Hey, Klaus. I told mum to make lunch. It won’t be long. We’ll have the memorial in a moment, as soon as Luther’s gotten over himself, and then we’ll have lunch, okay?” Klaus nods, blinking away the tears in his eyes. 

When Vanya comes back into the living room with his medication, he takes it with the water and swallows it down. “Next step,” Vanya says to him as she sits down next to him. “We’re going to go outside and do the memorial. Luther is going to scatter his ashes and then we’ll have lunch. Okay?” Klaus nods nervously. “I know Luther’s big but he’s not going to hurt you, I promise.” 

It’s step after step. And Klaus just wants things to go back to how they were the day before yesterday, everything the way it always is, no difference at all. He wishes himself back to being at Dave’s cafe on Monday, when they laughed and he flirted and Dave flirted back and everything was how it was supposed to be, in its order, all in its place. Now everything is out of sorts and Klaus doesn’t know what to do. 

Vanya helps Klaus onto the wheelchair and they journey to the courtyard. Luther is holding an urn with what he guesses is the old man’s ashes. The urn looks small in Luther’s giant hand, the giant hand which could crush him easily, without thinking much about it at all. Crush him between his fingertips until he’s in smaller pieces than the urn in his hand. 

Klaus doesn’t notice he’s crying and looking worryingly at Luther until Vanya is holding his shaking hand in hers. “Hey, it’s okay. He’s not going to hurt you, remember?” Klaus nods. “Just this step and then we’re going to have lunch, okay?” Klaus nods. It’s raining, he notices when he looks up, and Vanya is holding a black umbrella above them. He focuses on his own heartbeat he can feel, and the tapping of his right index finger on the arm of the chair. 

There’s a loud noise, a big sound which breaks him out of his stupor. He looks up from his hand to see big blue lights flashing a few meters in front of him and he can’t breathe. There’s what looks like the outline of a man flashing through the blue, an old man with his hands held out in front of him. And then the man falls, engulfed in the suit he’s wearing and no longer an old man, but a child. The blue light disappears and Klaus, still not breathing, focuses on the small figure in front of them. As the figure stands up, Klaus’ breath comes all too quick, becoming all consuming. “Five?” he whispers, throwing everything he’s told his brain, that Five is gone, and no matter how much he sees him, he is gone. He tries to convince himself that Five is just a hallucination, that if he turns away, he will see Luther scattering the ashes and everyone seemingly oblivious. But everyone is also looking at the mysterious Number Five, just like he is. 

He knows Vanya is just as stunned as he is, but she doesn’t react in the same way he does. She almost seems happy, confused, sad? Klaus finds it difficult to differentiate between the emotions when he himself is overwhelmed by them. “V… Van?” She takes his right hand in hers and squeezes it to let him know she’s there. 

“Give me one moment, okay? I’ll be right back.” And then she’s with the others a yard in front, talking with a boy who used to be a brother but soon became a stranger. There is some talking which Klaus doesn’t bother to try and listen in to, and then Vanya is coming towards him, tears in her eyes but a smile on her face. “It’s okay, we’re going to go inside and have lunch. There’s just one more of us than we were expecting.” He looks up at her in confusion. Is dad back? He can’t be back, Luther was holding his ashes in his big hand that he could crush him with. “Five’s back, Klaus.” Klaus takes a deep breath and nods. Vanya smiles sympathetically and pushes him into the kitchen, where everyone else already is. 

Once they’re sat at the table, Luther asks, “What’s for lunch, mum?”

“Macaroni and cheese, dear. I’ve made lemonade especially for the occasion.” Mum smiles and places a very large bowl of macaroni cheese in the middle of the table before bringing some plates and cutlery. She then brings over a jug of homemade lemonade with some glasses. 

“Why? We had this like, every day when we lived here. Don’t you think we’re sick of it?” Luther asks, anger lining his voice. 

Ben nudges him, “Because Klaus is here and that’s what Klaus has for lunch, okay?” Ben sounds angry, too, but he means well by it, Klaus thinks. That he is standing up for him, making sense of everything. Luther widens his eyes and rolls them but nods. 

“Just thought you’d be sick of it by now,” Luther mutters under his breath and Klau almost misses it, but he doesn’t and it hurts him. 

Klaus looks over at Five who is eyeing him carefully, before looking down at his hands. “What are you doing here?” he asks. He doesn’t mean anything bad by it, but everything’s different, and now Five’s back? He can’t be back, because that’s another thing that has to change, another cog in his brain that has to be reprogrammed. 

Five shakes some strange thoughts out of his head and answers, calmly so Klaus doesn’t panic, “I went to the future. And I saw… nothing. Everything’s gone, destroyed. My conclusion, the apocalypse. What’s the date? The exact date?” 

Klaus doesn’t know. Every day for the last however many years has been the exact same so it doesn’t matter what year or date it is, only the time and day of the week. “It’s the 24th March 2019,” Vanya answers. He never thought of Vanya having to keep track of the dates, but he guesses it’s probably important for her teaching, knowing when people are due to pay them rent, because she takes care of that. Five nods. 

“We have seven days until the apocalypse.” Klaus takes a sharp intake of breath. Five walks over to the fridge, pulling out a loaf of bread, before stopping and turning back to Klaus. “Is it okay if I have a sandwich?” He remembers. Remembers it all, despite how many years it must have been. Klaus nods slowly, to which Five smiles and continues, making a peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich. Kalus wishes he said no, but he was being kind. If Five has spent so long in the apocalypse, surely he should be able to eat what he wants. But it hurts. In the cafe, they have a set menu so he knows exactly the limitations of what the people surrounding them are going to eat, knows the options Vanya has on what she’s going to eat. Klaus hasn’t seen anyone eat anything other than that, or the same premise as in the restaurant, in so long, and it’s strange. 

He zones out after that because the thought of the apocalypse makes him feel sick. When he comes back to himself, the plate in front of him is almost full still, the thought of someone other than Dave making it makes him feel sick, and his left hand is still in Vanya’s, shaking. “What are we having for dinner, Klaus? I’m sure that’s your decision to make. Almost as if it’s you that’s Number One.” Luther says sarcastically, but the thought of having anything other than lasagne and garlic bread, made by Vanya, because that’s what he has on a Thursday, makes him feel sick. 

Diego backhands him on the thigh but Klaus guesses it hurts Diego more than it hurts Luther. Vanya takes a deep breath then speaks in her most assertive voice. “We are going to have lasagne and garlic bread and you’re going to have to find a way to deal with it. I’m going to make it and if you’ve got a problem with that then you can eat elsewhere tonight. Capeesh?” Luther nods, embarrassed. “Klaus, are you done with your lunch?” Klaus nods. Vanya smiles and takes the plate away. She understands that things changing makes him feel sick. He hardly ate his lunch yesterday because Dave wasn’t there. 

Klaus puts his head in his hands, shutting his eyes, in the hope that if he concentrates enough, perhaps he can convince himself he’s at the cafe, maybe he could smell Dave’s lemonade and Dave’s macaroni cheese and Dave’s customers and tables and chairs and cutlery. It almost works until Diego’s hand on his shoulder brings him back. “I’m sorry about Luther,” Diego begins. “I’ll try to make him use his single brain cell for some good.” Klaus nods and Diego smiles, before sitting back down in his spot. 

Vanya brings his attention back to her. “Next step, we’re going to go back outside and finish the memorial. We didn’t last time. Is that okay?” Klaus nods and together they go back out to the courtyard, before the family joins them. Pogo and mum join them and Luther scatters the ashes. Diego makes a remark that seems to upset Luther, resulting in what looks like the starts of a fight, until Vanya shouts something and they stop. 

“What now?” Klaus asks Vanya. “Can we go home?”

Vanya sighs. “I’m sorry, we’re going to have to stay here for a few days while the others sort out whatever Five’s going on about. I’m going to go back to the house tomorrow to pick up some clothes for the next few days. I can bring back your desk and canvases and paints so you can do that here, if you want. You can come with me, if that’s what you want.”

“I’d like that.” Klaus doesn’t want to be alone with people he knows but doesn’t know at all. He’d rather try to endure the drive back home and back here again than have to stay here, alone, without Vanya. It would kill him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three chapters in three days? I get a little over-obsessed and I can write it while I watch Vampire Diaries and it looks like I'm being productive, so there's your explanation.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! The name is, of course, Hey Jude by the Beatles. That needs no more explanation hopefully. 
> 
> I’m British do I probably say things different than Klaus and Vanya etc would say, so let me know in the comments if you don’t understand anything cause there’s definitely tings I don’t even know are British sayings. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this; I adore fanfics with Vanya and Klaus and don’t think there’s enough of them (so tell me abo it some in the comments if you know some good ones :))
> 
> Hope you enjoyed. I’ll try to update soon but there’s a pandemic and my GCSE’s are coming up pretty soon so who knows. I’ve started the Vampire Diaries so that really takes up a lot of time, but please no spoilers. Thankssss


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